University of Massachusetts Medical School escholarship@umms Community Engagement and Research Symposia 2018 Community Engagement and Research Symposium Mar 9th, 1:30 PM Greater Lawrence Family Health Center Food Insecurity Campaign: Building Partnerships within Communities to Address Social Determinants of Health and Promote Health Equity Elise Carpenter Greater Lawrence Family Health Center Raman Nohria Greater Lawrence Family Health Center Shannon Follow this Meyers and additional works at: https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/chr_symposium Boston University Part of the Civic and Community Engagement Commons, Community-Based Research Commons, Community Health Commons, Community Health and Preventive Medicine Commons, Food Security Commons, Health Services Administration Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, International and Community Nutrition Commons, and the Translational Medical Research Commons This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License. Carpenter, Elise; Nohria, Raman; and Meyers, Shannon, "Greater Lawrence Family Health Center Food Insecurity Campaign: Building Partnerships within Communities to Address Social Determinants of Health and Promote Health Equity" (2018). Community Engagement and Research Symposia. 7. https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/chr_symposium/2018/program/7 This material is brought to you by escholarship@umms. It has been accepted for inclusion in Community Engagement and Research Symposia by an authorized administrator of escholarship@umms. For more information, please contact Lisa.Palmer@umassmed.edu.
Greater Lawrence Family Health Center Food Insecurity Campaign Building Partnerships within Communities to Address Social Determinants of Health and Promote Health Equity
Outline Background of the city of Lawrence, MA Food insecurity & Lawrence Community Assets CBPR - through the eyes of patients Partnerships Developed Future Directions Lessons Learned
Patient Story [PICTURE OF WAITING ROOM]
Vision To organize a Lawrence community grassroots campaign to tackle food insecurity
Our Overall Process Community Engagement Informant Interviews Focus Groups Community Partnerships Active Community Participant Community Experience Community Assessment
Background of Lawrence Immigrant City Bread and Roses Strike of 1912 Population: 80,000 80% Latino 40% Immigrant
Unique Challenges 20% without citizenship Average Income: $38,500 (Census Data) 70% High school graduation $25,000 (Undocumented full-time) 10% College Graduation Average Rent: $1,500 per mo Utilities: Electric, Phone, Internet ~ $350/mo 64% Employment Rate 30% of residents are below poverty line
Food Insecurity and Lawrence
Hunger Vital Sign Screening
When we screened, we found Based on screening 1400 patients Roughly 2/3 of Lawrence is food insecure
Food Insecurity and Medical Disorders
Map of Grocery Stores 2.5mi 3mi
Community Assets & Resources
Map of Bodegas
Bodega Experience A Bodega - A Short by Samuel R. Mendez This short was created to shift the focuses away from what the community needs back to what the community already has Bodegas are a widely used institution in Lawrence, MA Carry many ingredients used in traditional dishes, including specific cuts of meat, spices, and produce More comfortable shopping experience, more community based Often owned and operated by members of the community
Suppliers Community Supported Agriculture Farmers Markets 4 CSA Farmers Markets operate in the Greater Lawrence area Seasonal Operations (April/May-October) No Equivalent available November-March Food Pantries 10+ food pantries operating in the Lawrence area Some require registration Restrictions on use Bodegas Often quite expensive, though some items in bulk can be cheaper
Current Programs Healthy Incentives Program Matches SNAP benefits for fruit and vegetables purchased at farmers markets, CSA, mobile markets and farm stands SNAP & EBT terminals must be programmed to accept No bodegas are included at this time Healthy On The Block Brings healthier options into bodegas Marked and labeled East Boston, Mattapan
Understanding the Patient Perspective
Research Questions What do patients feel about food insecurity? What do they identify as their challenges? What are their experiences? How do we accurately portray their experiences?
Research Process Patient Recruitment food insecure only Focus Groups Bilingual Thematic Analysis
Broad Themes Limited Income Affordability & Health Mental Health People Depend Upon Me Transportation Challenges Pride Daily Challenge Misinformation Job Search Challenges
The Experience I like to go to Aldi and Save a Lot and buy low-cost things things that won t go bad. Then things like milk, eggs, things that could go bad, I buy little by little if you buy lots of vegetables, they go bad and that would be a waste; money would run out and we will be short for the other weeks Before I felt, when I used to see people making lines waiting for food distribution, not afraid but ashamed, intimidated, I thought that other people needed that more than me so I have never gone to one of those places. If you have money for food but you need to pay for electricity, it is better to pay that than to eat. I was sharing an apartment with another woman, and she said I would like one of those candies they look so appetizing, in my head I was thinking maybe she would buy it and share it with me. But she didn t buy it and I was dying for a piece. That is an example of someone struggling. I used to go to a church by the supermarket on Essex St. But I stopped going because it s not close to me now. That is the problem. When it used to be closer I went. If there are children involved, it is worse. Kids asking for food-dad I am hungry and you have nothing to give them you feel like killing yourself. It is too tough to see your kids hungry, and you are unable to provide. Market Basket (MB) is the place for poor people. Bodega is too expensive. One gallon of milk is $2 something and in bodega is $5. When I was coming here I entered a bodega in the way to buy $1 of plantains, they were small and 3/$1, I left them
How do we proceed?
Solutions Community Partnerships
Mobile Market Partnered with Greater Boston Food Bank & Project Bread Collaborated with GLFHC clinical staff & support staff
Mobile Market Monthly Requires Registration Grocery Bag of Fruits and Vegetables
Outcomes Thus Far Project Bread has served 124 patients during 178 visits and helped submit 52 new SNAP applications. The GBFB Mobile Market has served 1055 unique households with 3453 individual people including 1007 children and 459 elders. The GBFB Mobile Market provides a produce bolus to patients: 112,550 lbs of produce distributed. 299 households have attended more than three of the GBFB Mobile Markets. 64 households have attended more than seven.
Future Directions
Continual Understanding Community Saturation Do these experiences accurately reflect the whole community Future Questions: Day-to-day experience Shopping when weather is harder America vs former country experience Job experience
Mobile Market Partnership Assess Impact on Patients and Community Recruit Patient Leadership Tailor our Partnership Shopping Experience Cooking Experience Linking with Transportation Budgeting Seminars Increase SNAP access Advocacy
Lessons Learned Seek feedback from the community and patients Identify and leverage community assets to build a cohesive plan Be open to building a collective vision with team stakeholders Define metrics to assess impact
Questions?